FINN, which operates a car subscription business in the US and Germany, will use the €100m funding round to more than double the share of low-emission vehicles to over 80% of its fleet.
London-based impact investor Planet First Partners has led a €100m funding round in car subscription provider FINN.
It was joined by existing investors, including HV Capital, Korelya Capital, UVC Partners, White Star Capital and Picus Capital, increasing FINN’s valuation to more than $600m (€548m).
FINN, which was founded in Munich in 2019 and now also has offices in New York, will use the Series C funding to more than double the share of low-emission vehicles such as fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids in its fleet from 40% to over 80% by 2028.
The company, which operates throughout Germany and across the Northeastern coast of the US, hopes to accelerate growth in the electric vehicle sector as well as establish the car subscription model as a significant driver of electric mobility.
Drivers of growth
FINN announced it had reached €160m in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) with more than 25,000 active subscriptions last year. The company’s B2B fleet business, which includes cars for sales employees, consultants, healthcare workers and company cars as perks, has been one of its most important growth drivers and now accounts for half of ARR, with the other half coming from private consumers.
The company said its customers could choose from more than 30 vehicle brands and hundreds of models, and received an end-to-end package, which includes insurance, financing, registration, taxes and maintenance.
Planet First Partners is an Article 9 fund and Impact Investor has previously reported on its investments in Sunfire, an industrial electrolysis company, Submer, specialists in immersion cooling technology for datacentres, and Nanogence, a Swiss building material innovation company.
Asked by Impact Investor what attracted Planet First Partners to FINN, Nathan Medlock, managing partner for the company, said that in addition to FINN’s strong track-record of growth, the company’s innovative approach to accelerating the shift to electric mobility also stood out.
“The transition to electric vehicles is one of the major societal shifts taking place globally and is crucial in our move towards a more sustainable economy. With road transport accounting for around one-sixth of global emissions, electric vehicles are vital to decarbonise society,” he said.
Medlock also said that FINN’s subscription model simplified the transition to electric vehicles, and aligned with the firm’s commitment to sustainable investments.
“By leading the Series C funding, Planet First Partners aims to support FINN in doubling the proportion of electric vehicles in its fleet from around 40% today, reflecting a significant step towards sustainable mobility.”
Accelerating the shift to electric mobility
Speaking to Impact Investor, Maximilian Wühr, CEO and co-founder of FINN, said that to achieve international climate targets, the shift to electric mobility had to be significantly accelerated over the next few years given that road transport accounted for around one-sixth of global emissions.
“However, while the market has decided that electric vehicles are the future, a goal that FINN is fully aligned on, many consumers and businesses remain hesitant about switching to these new, more sustainable vehicles due to high costs, risk of rapidly outdated technology and depreciation. At FINN, we believe that removing the hassle of car ownership by providing a flexible subscription model, catering especially for electric vehicles, is a significant accelerant in the transition to more sustainable mobility,” he said.
Wühr said that the ease of taking out a car subscription and the ability to test the car in your daily life without needing to commit to the vehicle for a lengthy period of time was an attractive proposition for both consumers and businesses alike.
“We clearly see a trend that if customers subscribe to an electric vehicle once, they do not switch back to an internal combustion engine car,” he added.
